Wall fixture support



y 1959 J. J. CONNORS ET AL 2,893,676

\ WALL FIXTURE SUPPORT Filed July 6, 1956 INVENTORS JAMES J CONNORS CHAR% ELSENHEIMER PATENT AGENT WALL FIXTURE SUPPORT James J. Connors and Charles W. Elsenheimer, Meriden, Conn., assignors to The Charles Parker Company, Meriden, Conn.

Application July 6, 1956, Serial No. 596,291

6 Claims. (Cl. 248225) This invention relates to wall fixtures, such as supporting posts or brackets for towel bars, soap dishes, shelves and other or similar accessories, used in bathrooms and the like.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a fixture of this type" comprising a minimum of parts which can be inexpensively manufactured and readily mounted, even by unskilled persons, whereby the mounted fixture has an attractive appearance. It is a further object of the invention to provide a twopart' fixture made of extruded material, for example, of pieces of light metal, such as aluminum, or any other metal or material to be extruded.

It is another object of the present invention to provide with such fixture a substantially-rectangular fastening or mounting plate adapted to be secured to a wall or other rigid member. At least one of the edges of this plate is formed with a bevel having an inclination being outwardly from the rear face of the plate. The front face of the plate is slightly recessed and bordered by two surfaces slightly taperingtoward. a center zone of the plate where these two surfaces meet along *a line which is substantially parallel with respect to the bevelled edge. In addition, the associated fixture-post or bracket is provided with a channel of the profile dimensions of this fastening or mounting plate, so that this fixture post-or bracket, when seated on the fastening or mounting plate, snuggly engages the faces thereof and can be held firmly thereon after tightening of a clamping means. As a result of this construction, the fixture post is safely secured to the wall or other rigid member engaged by the rear faces of the outer portions ofthis fixture post which straddle. the plate.

.It is a stillfurther object of the invention to provide on two opposite edges of this fastening or mounting plate such bevels which, advantageously, have slight inclinations ofabout' 11: The wedge action of the bevels is increased due .to the provision of the slightly tapering surfaces on the front face of. the plate. f

' It isa further object of the. invention to provide.as clamping means a set screw threaded in one of these straddling portions, of the fixture post, whereby this set screw, uponjtightening, engages one of the edges ofthe,

plate and urges the opposite edge of the plate into intimate engagement. with the corresponding adjacent edge in the channel of the fixture post.

It is an additionalobject of the invention to make the fixture post or bracket narrower than the width of .the fastening platey'wherebythe position of this post or bracket'slid over'from one 'side of the plate may be later- ;ad juste'd thereto, and whereby 7 this fixture; post; or bracket covers-themounting plate at least at the zone of the fastening means for the walL. Thus, the holes through the mounting plate "and the heads of the anchoring bolts threaded 51 therein .are... concealed T by? the fixture span; or bracket which, nevertheless, is permitted to be displaced somewhat from its position at the center of these holes or bolt heads if such slight adjustments should be necessary. The ends of the mounting plate extend from the sides of the fixture post or bracket, whereby these unconcealed parts of this mounting plate enhance the ornamental and aesthetic appearance of the fixture support, since the sight of the slight inclinations of the bevelled edges and of the slightly tapered front surfaces of this plate please the human eye.

Still further objects and the entire scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a fixture support, according to the invention, said support being adapted to hold the end of a towel bar;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same I embodiment showing the individual unassembled elements of the new fixture support;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment according to the invention, i.e., of a bracket support adapted to hold one side or end of a glass shelf, for example, for bathroom use;

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a fastening or mounting plate according to the invention which is slightly modified with respect to that illustrated in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a side view of an anchorging bolt to be used to secure the plate of Figure 4 to a wall or other rigid structure;

Figure 6 is a top view of the anchoring bolt in Fig.- ure 5.

- The fixture support, shown in Figures 1 and 2, com.- pr'ises a fastening or mounting plate 10 of rectangular shape which can be secured to a wall 11 or any other rigid member, and a fixture post 12 mountable on this plate 10 and held or clamped thereon by means of a set screw 13 located in the foot or straddling portion 14 of this post. The plate 10 and/or the fixture post 12 can be obtained by extrusion from light metal, such as aluminum, or other materials. The free end 15 of the post 12 is formed with a cavity 16 to receive one end of a towel bar 17 in a manner known per se, the other end of which is to be supported by a second fixture post 12, not shown, or other suitable means.

The rectangular plate 10 has two bevelled edges 18 and, 19 opposite and parallel to one another, the inclination of the bevels being outwardly from the rear face 20 engaging the wall 11. The inclination of these bevels is slight, for example, about 11. While the rear face 29 of the plate 10 is flat, so as to snuggly engage the normally fiat wall surface, the front face of this plate 10 is formed by two converging, substantailly flat surfaces 21 and 22 respectively tapering from the bevelled edges 18 and 19 toward the center zone of the plate 10. These two surfaces, preferably tapering at the slight angle of about 5, meet along a line 23 which is in the center of the plate and is parallel to the bevelled edges 18 and 19. In view of the slight tapering angle of the surfaces 21 and 22, the line 23 is actually almost invisible on the front plate face.

The foot portion 14 of the fixture post 12 has in its rear a channel or cut-out 24 of practically the same dimensions as the profile of the plate 10, so that this foot portion 14 can he slid over from one end of the plate 10 and -will straddle the latter in close contact thereto. The set screw 13, seated in a threaded hole in one of the extremities of the foot portion 14, is applied to the bevelled edge 19 when the screw is tightened and, thereby,

urges the opposite bevelled edge 18 in intimate engagement with its adjacent, corresponding bevelled surface of this foot portion 14. Since the channel or cut-out 24 in the foot portion 14 has the same shape as the plate 10, the respective tapering surfaces at the front faces of this plate and in the channel or cut-out 24 will be brought into intimate engagement upon tightening of the set screw 13, whereby the wedge action, due to the provision of the bevelled edge 18 and of the tapering surface 21 of the plate 10, increases the clamping force between this plate and the fixture post 12. At the same time, the rear faces 25 and 26 of the extremities 27 and 28, respectively, of the foot portion 14 of the fixture post 12 are brought into contact with the Wall 11.

As shown in Figure 2, the plate 10 is provided with two holes 29 and 30, adapted to receive fastening or anchoring screws or bolts, not shown, by means of which this plate can be secured to the wall 11 or any other rigid structure in a manner known per se. These holes 29 and 30 are countersunk at the front face of the plate 10 to accommodate the heads of the fastening or anchoring screws or bolts, so that these heads will not project from the front face of the plate to interfere with the proper seating of the fixture post 12 on the plate 10.

The fixture post 12 and its foot portion 14, forming an integral part thereof, may be narrower than the length of the plate 10, so that the end portions of the plate 10 may project from both sides of the narrow foot portion 14, as shown in Figure 1. Due to the pleasing sight of the slightly bevelled edges and of the slight tapering angle of the front surfaces of the plate 10, the ornamental and aesthetic appearance of the assembled fixture sup port, illustrated in Figure 1, is enhanced. The foot portion 14 can be displaced on the plate 10 prior to the tightening of the set screw to properly adjust its lateral position when the fixture support is mounted or assembled, i.e., the foot portion 14 is wide enough to permit slight displacements from the center position without uncovering the holes 29 and 30 or the heads of the fastening screws lodged therein, which are to be concealed by this foot portion 14.

In the embodiment of Figure 3, showing a fixture bracket 31 adapted to support one side of a glass pane or shelf, not shown, the foot portion of the fixture bracket is constructed in the same manner as that in Figures 1 and 2, so that the same reference numerals are used for like parts in Figure 3 as in Figures 1 and 2. The middle or actual shelf-supporting portion 32 of the fixture bracket 31 has a flat upper surface upon which the glass pane or shelf, not shown, is placed. A notch or groove 33 at the foot portion 14 and a bent-over free end part 34, forming another groove 35, are adapted to secure the mentioned glass pane or shelf in place on the fixture bracket, so that it cannot slip off. The same kind of fastening or mounting plate 10, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, may be used for assembling or mounting of the fixture bracket 31 in Figure 3. A set screw 41 in a threaded hole of the shelf-supporting portion 32 of the fixture bracket 31 serves to lock the glass pane or shelf, not shown.

Figure 4 illustrates a modified embodiment of a fastening or mounting plate 36 which may be used for mounting of either of the fixture supports shown in Figure 1, 2 and 3. While the fastening or mounting plate 10 in Figure 2 has two holes 29 and 30 for receiving two anchoring screws or bolts, the plate 36 in Figure 4 has a single, centrally positioned, hole 37 which is advantageously threaded, so that it can be mounted on a correspondingly threaded head of an anchoring bolt. Otherwise, the plate 36 has the same shape as the plate 10 in Figures 1 and 2 and like reference numerals are used for the same parts in Figure 4 as in Figures 1 and 2.

An anchoring bolt 38, shown in Figures 5 and 6, may be used to secure the plate 36 of Figure 4 to a wall or other rigid supporting structure. This bolt 38 has a hexagonal cross section throughout the greater part of its length. Several circular grooves or notches 39 interrupt the hexagonal configuration to provide for increased frictional contact with the plaster or cement in which the greater part of the bolt is to be embedded. When properly anchored in a wall or the like by such embedding, known per se, the threaded head 40 of the bolt 39 is permitted to protrude from the Wall or the like surface. The plate 36 is then threaded on the head 40 which is slightly shorter than the thickness of the plate 36 at the tapped hole 37. The mounting or assembling of the fixture'post or bracket on the plate 36 takes place in the same way as in the embodiments of Figures 1, 2, and 3.

Instead of a fixture post for a towel bar or a fixture bracket for a shelf, as shown and described in the fore going, any other fixture of this general type may be de signed with a foot portion according to the present invention.

We claim:

1. A fixture support comprising a substantially rectangular fastening plate having a front face and a substantially flat rear face, the latter being adapted to engage the face of a rigid member when said plate is fastened thereto, at least one edge of said plate being bevelled and the inclination of said bevel being outwardly from said rear face, said front face being formed with a slight cavity bordered by two surfaces respectively tapering from said bevelled edge and the opposite edge of said plate toward a center zone where said surfaces meet along a line which is substantially parallel with respect to said bevelled edge, a fixture post having in its rear a channel of complementary shape and of substantially the profile dimensions of said plate, and screw means in said fixture post opposite to and cooperating with said opposite edge of said plate to clamp said fixture post on said plate thereby causing a friction fit between the respectively opposite tapering surfaces on said front face of said plate and in said channel of said fixture post and also between said bevelled edge of said plate and the opposite bevelled edge in the complementarily shaped channel of said fixture post.

2. A fixture support according to claim 1, wherein said plate has two of said bevelled edges which are opposite and parallel to one another.

3. A fixture support according to claim 1, wherein the tapering angle of said surfaces with respect to said rear face is about 5.

4. A fixture support according to claim 1, wherein said fixture post is narrower than the length of said plate so that the latter is only partly covered by said fixture post.

5. A fixture support according to claim 1, wherein means are provided on said plate to fasten it to said rigid member and wherein said means are concealed by said fixture post.

6. A fixture support according to claim 5, said fasten: ing means including at least one hole through said plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 495,537 Westerman Apr. 18, 1893 671,486 Loumann Apr. 9, 1901 1,940,888 Smith Dec. 26, 1933 2,230,923 Barry Feb. 4, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 230,471 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1944 

